This Nile Turtle arrived for breakfast every morning at the Longhouse Inn Hotel by the riverside in Dalyan. It was fed on any leftover eggs (scrambled and boiled). Some establishments on the riverside lure the species with chicken skin in order to attract more customers, a practice which is in fact harmful to this secretive turtle which is unable to digest this food alien to its natural diet. I would imagine eggs aren't great for it to be eating every day either…

One morning while vacationing in Istanbul, I heard a chainsaw in the street. I tried to ignore it but it was a really intrusive noise and I wondered what was taking such a hammering. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked out of the window and was shocked to see a man cutting down the large Acacia tree (I think), in the yard of the house opposite…

Common ground is a series of photos of (mainly) south London commons and common land. I've created a new gallery, and you can see more of the series in this Flickr album.

Originally in medieval England the common was an integral part of the manor, and was thus part of the estate held by the lord of the manor under a feudal grant from the Crown or a superior peer, who in turn held his land from the Crown which owned all land.